Another Little Piece of My Heart

[Gediid]

A lil something from NY Times

Lately the author has been active in Somali affiars.From America to Europe to Africa he has participated in discussions on Somali affairs.Can this mean he might join the political fray anytime soon?

And if he does what are the chances he can hold his ground against the warlords?

 

Anyways here's the article....

 

 

Another Little Piece of My Heart

By NURUDDIN FARAH

 

Published: August 2, 2004

 

 

Cape Town — ON the day I needed to fly out of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to get back home to Cape Town, my only choice was a Kenyan Fokker, normally used as a cargo plane, that was flying back to Nairobi with passengers. As we were being shown to our seats, the Kenyan captain told the passengers to hand over our passports. He said that he would hold them in the cabin until we landed in Kenya

I became angry when I asked the other passengers, who were all Somali-born, what passports they were traveling on. Two of them had Canadian nationality, three of them - one a Somali-Swede, the remaining two Somali-Dutch - had European Union passports. I asked the captain if he would have demanded the passports of non-Somalis from Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands taking a flight from Mogadishu.

 

He knew where I was headed, but of course he didn't want to go there. So he asked, "What precisely is your gripe?"

 

I replied that I objected to handing over my passport to a Kenyan who had no authority over Somalis. Did he not know that we were still on Somali soil, not his country, but mine? Was he aware that Somalia was a country in its own right?

 

He mumbled something about America, but I couldn't hear exactly what he said. He might have alluded to a post-Sept. 11 world in which Somalia was perceived as playing host to a terrorist network that resulted in the attack on a hotel full of Israeli tourists in Mombasa, Kenya. I don't recall him saying anything about September or Mombasa, but he acted nevertheless as though the mention of America alone in today's Somalia was sufficient to put the fear of God into its citizens. And when I requested that he speak up, the pilot informed me that he could deny me the right to fly on his aircraft. Then with his hand outstretched, he demanded that I decide whether I wished to travel or not. (Rumor had it that Kenyan pilots were required to keep a list of all passengers, including their nationalities, who were flying out of Mogadishu. Any passengers holding Somali passports or having Muslim-sounding names were to be reported to Kenyan authorities, working with the United States, who would then monitor their movements.)

 

I became aware as I considered my options that I was getting caught up in my emotions over the chaos that has enveloped Somalia since American forces left the country in 1993. This post-collapse was having a far-reaching effect on how Somalis were being treated in a world adjusting to Sept. 11. In the end, I realized that I had no choice but to accept my humbled condition within the rationale of terrorist paranoia. So I gave him my passport.

 

I struggled to control my temper for the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Nairobi, angry not at the pilot or, for that matter, the United States, but at my people. I wondered why we have allowed such indignities to be visited upon our nation - and for so long. The answer is that we no longer own our country.

 

Somalia, which lacks a functioning government, is a free-for-all country. Anyone may enter: no visas are necessary nor does anyone check passports. Nobody honors Somalia's airspace or its porous borders, especially not Ethiopia, whose military, every so often, occupies large chunks of Somalia on America's behalf on the pretext of hunting down Islamists - and not even the African Union or the United Nations has ever bothered to reprimand Ethiopia for its behavior. Last year, there were reports that a group of United States soldiers, having received a nod of approval from a Somali warlord, went into Mogadishu and abducted a terrorist suspect from his sick bed.

 

In Mogadishu, the consequences of Somalia's collapse were evident everywhere I went, beginning at the airports, which are controlled by warlords who demand "landing fees.'' Destitute Somalis, refugees from the countryside, were squatting in ruined buildings that once housed the offices of state utilities, the polytechnic schools and the Foreign Affairs Ministry. These refugees have no charitable groups to look after them - because of the lawlessness, United Nations and nongovernmental organizations stay in Nairobi and travel in and out of Mogadishu during the day, leaving the city before dark.

 

Even more disturbing because of the ominous omen for Somalia's future is the lack of education available. The Somali tradition of secular education is extinct. The schooling that does exist is financed by Arabs, which means Arabic has replaced Somali in school curriculums. This is tragic, especially because writing in Somali was in its infancy when the state collapsed - the standardization of the script having been adopted in 1972 - and Somalia is the only African country with a population numbering in the millions to boast of having one unifying language. This will no longer be the case if Arabic continues to be the medium of instruction in schools.

 

Little of value has remained of Somalia's wealth. Its beaches have been rented out to entrepreneurs who dump nuclear waste there. Government property has been taken over by African and European countries because of nonpayment of taxes. Even Somalia's flagship airline has been confiscated for not settling its landing or take-off fees. Somali children destined to become prostitutes are exchanged for a truckload of weapons, given to a warlord.

 

Can we, Somalis, be responsible if our country becomes a terrorist haven when we do not own it - a Somalia where anyone can come and go without our authority; where American soldiers allegedly go in and out and abduct possible suspects; where Ethiopia invades at will; where our beaches are the dumping sites of other country's nuclear waste; where Arabs alter our educational system and secular tradition?

 

To own Somalia's problems and eventually its solutions, we must take possession of our country, and everyone must return our property to us, and all interferences in our affairs must stop. But if our land remains someone else's playground, and we continue to be victims of everyone else's machinations, then we won't make the necessary link between our post-collapse and America's post-Sept. 11.

 

Nuruddin Farah is the author, most recently, of the novel "Links."

 

Orginal Article

[Baashi]

I'm saddened even more when I read this able writer's description of the Somalia that I once knew and his relevant observations...

 

Sad indeed...calaa caleyk

[Gediid]

Baashi

I think he hammered the nail right through our thick foreheads.It is the true but sad story of the state Somalis are in at this moment.

What do you think tho does he have any political ambitions in the near future?

[Baashi]

Does he have political ambitions? I doubt it Gediid. The reason being he knows damn well the minute he get into the fray, his good name will just disappear and he would be considered as just ina hebel from reer Qansax.

 

The other reason is he has no base! his followings are limited to the elites and so-called educated folks who often want to point fingers from distance without putting their fat feet on the sand dunes of that semi-arid, hot, and anarchiac Somalia. He will even risk losing some of these supporters the minute he reveals his opinion on Somaliland, Puntland, TNG, and other hot political issues.

 

For these reasons, I think he would stay above it and continue to contribute through other venues.

 

Just a thought!

[Waaq]

brothers,

 

I was fortunate to talk with Mr. Nurrudin Farah during a stop on his book tour here at the University of California, Berkeley. In my opinion, he is not concerned with his political aspirations but rather the apathy and disengagement of the Somali population abroad. In particular, those of us in America who participate little in Somalia's affairs. He expressed to me his disgust at the lack of involvement from those educated and skilled Somalis now residing in the USA who participate little if at all in finding solutions to the Somali problem.

 

I tend to agree with him. A great of deal of the awareness created after the crisis of the war was due in large part to the efforts of the small diaspora in the USA and UK working tirelessly to lobby the world. These voices have now fell silent.

 

all of us with the ability and knowledge to help Somali should assist in anyway possible rather than bickering among ourselves.

 

your thoughts?

 

waaq

[Changed]

i think he is a briliant author and he does a great job at pointing out the problems in somalia but u cant just sit there and point the problems out expecting others to do something about it. someone said he blames the somalis Abroad for not being involoved i blame him. i mean what happened to Leading By Example .

i respect the fact that its his personal choice and i think he should do the same for those not involved .I dont think one should Expect anything from anyone

[Sincere]

To many chiefs and no indians.....

 

Every Tom,Dick, and Harry with an opinion is jumping into politics, and in turn causing us to run around in circles.

 

I applaud him for his conscience choice of avoiding politics, and using litreture as a conduit to voice his opinion.

[Sophist]

Heartfelt indeed.

[checkmate]

i concur with sophist..heartfelt indeed

 

But question comes into mind...Do we(the bright,young and educated somalians living abroad) think we can make a difference in somalia today?

 

your thoughts!

 

asxantu

[sheherazade]

The man has done what he can as he knows best- through his words. He doesn't need to harbour political ambitions. He may not have an aptitude for it in any case; those that think they do are still getting it wrong.

 

Many think they can make a difference but I don't see them packing up and making the move.

[ferocious]

Originally posted by Discreet1:

To many chiefs and no indians.....

 

Every Tom,Dick, and Harry with an opinion is jumping into politics, and in turn causing us to run around in circles.

 

I applaud him for his conscience choice of avoiding politics, and using litreture as a conduit to voice his opinion.

Educational Indeed :eek: :rolleyes:

[Legend of Zu]

I dont know him personally nor did i read any of his books....but generally, being good writer doesn't mean you will be a good leader...prolly he knows that he doesn't have the charcteristics of the leadership that can bring somalia out of its misery. and if that is the case I would admire him for it!!!!

 

Cheers